Coroner demands urgent review of London cycle lane surface after motorcyclist’s death

Pic: Google

A CORONER has called for an urgent safety review of the surface used on London cycle lanes after a motorcyclist skidded, hit a bollard and suffered fatal injuries.

Milan Dokic, 49, crashed on the blue paint used in London’s Cycle Superhighways, on Battersea Park Road in south-west London.

Mr Dokic entered the non-segregated lane at the junction with Forfar Road to undertake a van and lost control in wet conditions at around 1pm on March 1 last year.

Coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox issued Transport for London with a ‘report to prevent further deaths’.

Dr Wilcox’s report said: 'The CCTV clearly shows the motorcycle losing grip and sliding along the road. Sadly, Mr Dokic came off and hit a bollard, sustaining injuries that led to his death at the scene.'

The report said no conclusion had been reached yet as the inquest had not been heard but that tests by a collision investigator found the surface where Mr Dokic crashed ‘offers a much lower grip than the conventional road surface with a skid resistance value of 56.3 compared to the road surface of 77.05’.

It said a cycle lane surface used before a pedestrian crossing had a higher than normal grip value of 89.85.

Dr Wilcox said cyclists had also raised concerns about the grip level and that she was due to hear ‘evidence in another death in slightly different circumstances than this of Mr Dokic where low grip on the CSH may also have played a part’.

The second death was also in Battersea.

Dr Wilcox said the surface with reduced grip ‘may be widespread and as such other dangerous areas may exist’.

Her report said the ‘TfL should therefore undertake an urgent review of all areas treated with such road surface and replace it with the higher grip surface.’

It said the ‘concerns were too urgent to wait’ until the conclusion of the inquest, due this summer.

The report ends with the statement ‘In my opinion action should be taken to prevent future deaths’ and warns the TfL has a duty to respond within 56 days with either details of action to be taken or an explanation of why no action is proposed.   

Mr Dokic, a tool hire manager, was the father of a teenage boy.  

Leon Daniels, TfL’s managing director of surface transport, said: “Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Milan Dokic. We’re preparing our response to the coroner and carefully considering the issues raised.

"We are confident our cycle superhighway network is improving the safety of London’s roads.”

What do you think? Are the blue cycle lanes too slippery? Email the editor: steve@visordown.com.